growing up Archives

My basement was the kind of basement that, when kids went down the stairs and saw the amount of toys down there, they stopped mid-step, clutched the handrail, and trembled with excitement. My… basement was legendary to friends’ kids. There weren’t enough shelves or floor space for all the goods, so the toys scattered across the floor: Lego bins stacked beside illegally parked trucks, dolls splayed every which way, and pint-sized chairs formed an unattended tea party, complete with mini-porcelain dishes. But after one too many crippling heel… >> Read More

Holidays

This Jewish Heroine Is an Icon for Young Boys. Here’s Why.

Rabbi Toby H. Manewith

It’s hard to get an 11-year-old boy to bathe. If you have (or have had) one, you know... I can almost see you nodding your head in agreement. Sure, if we’re in a hotel bathroom with an… oversized mirror, those adorable miniature bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and perhaps a phone to add to the interest, then maybe. But on an everyday basis? My kid has better things to do. To illustrate: Last summer when my son came home from a week at Boy Scout camp, every piece of his clothing —… >> Read More

growing up

I Couldn’t Wait for My Daughter to Read. But Now I Have Mixed Feelings.

Amy Litzenblatt

“Mommy, what’s HPV?” Such were the words that came out of my 6-year-old’s mouth the other day. We were in the waiting room at the pediatrician — the third time we’d been there in two… weeks. (It’s winter, right?) My daughter — who was warm with a fever and a little quieter than usual — had been leaning her head on my shoulder when, suddenly, she sat straight up and asked me that question. Immediately, I panicked. Were her friends already talking about HPV in FIRST GRADE? Was it something… >> Read More

Television

Disney’s ‘Andi Mack’ Is Seriously Groundbreaking — and Incredibly Jewish

Linda Buchwald

If you and your tweens are not watching the Disney Channel show Andi Mack yet, you need to start ASAP. It deals with so many different kinds of identities, including Jewish identity, in a way not… usually seen on TV aimed at the pre-teen set. Andi Mack is the first Disney Channel show to focus on an Asian American family — and it’s broken new ground for the Disney Channel time and time again. The premise is that Andi (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) discovers that Bex (Lilian Bowden), the woman she thought… >> Read More

teens

I Parented Like the Dad in ‘The Chosen’ and This Is What Happened

Alina Adams

The Chosen, the novel by Chaim Potok, was first published in 1967, and has been a staple of middle-school reading lists ever since. It tells the story of two unlikely friends, Reuven and Danny,… who are growing up in Brooklyn during World War II and through the creation of the state of Israel. Reuven is the son of a Modern Orthodox academic; Danny is the son of a Hasidic rabbi. Reuven's father expects Reuven to be a professor but Reuven really wants to be a rabbi. Danny’s father expects… >> Read More

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